Apparatus for making acetone



2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

(No-Model.)

O. PORSGH. APPARATUS FOR MAKING AUETON-E.

No. 535,553. Patented Mar. 12, 1895.

WITNESSES: 9

0., WASHINGTON D c (No Model.) 2'Sheets-Sheet 2.

O .PORSG H. APPARATUS FOR MAKING AGETONE.

No. 535,553. Patented Mar. 12 1895.

j WITNESSES: INVENTOH A ATTO EYS NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTOKAR Ponson, F ORANGEBURG, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ACETONE.

$IE'ECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,553, dated March 12, 1895.

Application filed Novemher'Zl, 1894- Serial No. 529,454. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OTTOKAR Ponscn, a subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, residing at Orangeburg, in the county of Rockland and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Making Acetone, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for making acetone, said apparatus being so constructed that the same can be quickly charged and discharged and cleaned in all its parts with great facility from the adhering dust, and by which a high yield of acetone, free from mechanical impurities, is obtained; and the invention consists of an apparatus for making acetone, which comprises a jacketed mixing-vessel or retort having closed supply and discharge-openings, rotary scrapers in said retort, a perforated steam A supply-pipe, a collecting-vessel, provided with a heating-coil, a pipe connecting the mixing-vessel with the collecting-vessel, a condenser, a pipe connecting the collectingvessel with the condenser, and steam-pipes arranged axially in line with the connectingpipes so as to permit the quick removal of the dust settling in the same.

The invention conststs further of certain details of construction which will be fully described and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side-elevation of my improved apparatus for making acetone, and Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through the mixingvessel or retort, drawn on a larger scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the closed mixing-vessel or retort; B, the furnace in which the same is set for being heated; G, the dust collecting-vessel, and E the condenser.

The mixing-vessel or retort A is connected with the collecting-vessel O by a pipe O,and the collecting-vessel with the condenser E by a pipe D. The bottom of the mixing-vessel A is formed of an interior and an exterior section, the space between which is entirely filled with molten lead. The circumferential flange of the top or cover A and the circumferential flanges of the outer and inner secin the flange of the cover and intermediate ringa for suppplying the lead, said openings being closed by means of plugs A The cover A is provided atits center with a stuffing-box, which forms a bearing for a vertical shaft S, that extends in downward direction through the mixing-vessel, said shaft being supported at its lower end by an interior step-bearing b at the bottom of the interior section of the mixingvessel A and by an exterior neck-bearing.

A man-hole a is arranged in the cover A of the mixing-vessel and closed by a manhole cover a in the usual manner, said man-hole being used for charging the mixing vessel, while a dischargeopening a is arranged in the lower part of the interior and exterior sections of the body, said discharge-opening being closed by a tightly-fitting cover A. When the operation of distilling 01f the crude acetone from the charge is completed, the cover A is removed so as to permit the ready discharge of the contents of the retort A. An inclined discharge-flue of the furnace B conveys the charge to the outside.

The lower end of the shaft S is provided near the-bottom of the mixing-vessel A, with diametrical-inclined stirrer-arms or scrapers S which are arranged close to the bottom of the interior section and bent up at their ends, so as to exert a mixing and scraping action on the contents of the vessel and prevent them from settling on the bottom of the same. tary motion is imparted to the vertical shaft S by bevel-gears g g, which receive their motion from a horizontal shaft S which is supported in bearings supported on uprights on the cover of the mixing-vessel, the horizontalshaft S being provided with a fast and loose pulley in the usual manner. The scrapers S are arranged at an angle of forty-five degrees to the bottom of the interior section and are rotated slowly so as to make about four rotations per minute.

A supply-pipe p for superheated steam extends through the cover A to the interiorof the mixing-vessel, terminates at the inte ior of the same, and is provided with a number of perforations at its lower part through which the steam is discharged. A pressure-gage m is connected with an opening in the cover of the mixing-vessel for indicating the pressure in the same. I

The connecting-pipe C is composed of three. sections that are arranged at right angles to each other, the sections diminishing gradually in diameter. The rectangular pipe-sec-v tions are extended beyond their intersections, and are closed at their ends with detachable covers, through which steam-pipes 1), pro vided with stop-cocks p pass to the interior of the pipe-sections, said steam-pipes being in line with the axes of said pipes so as to perunit the convenient cleaning of the sections of the connecting-pipe Ofrom the dust deposited in the same. In the horizontal section of the connecting-pipe O is arranged a damper 01, provided with a handle at, so that the pipe C can be closed for facilitating the cleaning of the sections at either side of the dam per. The connecting-pipe 0 extends downward into the dust collecting-vessel O, and is obliquely cut off at its lower end, so as to deliver the acctone-vapors into the collectingvessel. The dust collecting-vessel G is provided at its lower part with a heating-coil C to which steam is supplied, and which is provided with valved steam inlet and outlet-pipes 19 19. It is further provided with a man-hole and man-hole cover at its lower part for removing the accumulated dust and permitting the cleaning of the dust-collecting-vessel.

The pipe D by which the dust-collector O is connected with the condenser E is provided with a dust-catcher D formed of inclined conical tubes and a closed bottom, said dusting in the top of the collector, so asto retain the dust as much as possible in the collecting-vessel, and prevent its passage with the vapors to the condenser.

All the partsheretofore described, namely, the mixing-vessel A, thedust collecting-vessel O, and the connecting-pipe O, are made of cast-iron, while the condenser E and the connecting-pipe D between the collecting-ves sel and the condenser are preferably made of copper.

The condenser E is constructed-on the counter-current principle, cold water being supplied to the bottom of the same, while the warm Water is discharged at the upper part of the same. A number of cooling-tubes are arranged in the condenser, through which the vapors are conducted, while the water passes over a number of horizontal trays that extend alternately from one side of the condenser toward the other side. The crude liquid acetone is discharged through a bottom-pipe f into a collecting-vessel F, while the carbonic acid is conducted off through a vertical pipe f that communicates from the-pipef into the atmosphere.

The connecting-pipe D is, like the connecting-pipe C, formed of sections that are arranged at right angles to each other, each section being extended beyond its inter-section with its adjacent section, and provided with a detachable cover, through which extends a steam-pipe 19 provided with a stopcock said steam-pipe serving to admit steam to the interior of the pipe for removing the'dust settled in the same, the dust in the sectionsof the connecting-pipe D being forced into the dust COllCCtlilg-VeSSPl and through its man-hole to the outside, while the dust in the sections of the connecting-pipe O is forced into the mixing-vessel and through the discharge-opening of the same to the outside. By this arrangement, the entire apparatus can be cleaned of the dust settled in the connecting-pipes in a very short time, so that the time heretofore taken up for cleaning the different parts of acetone distilling apparatus is saved, and the annoyance caused thereby to the attendants dispensed with.

In producing the acetone, a suitable acetate, preferably the commercial acetate of lime, is mixed with calcium hydrate and charged into the mixing-vessel or retort A. Each charge consists of about six hundred pounds, from which the acetone is distilled off in about four hours, including the time required for charging and discharging the mixing-vessel. The charging of the apparatus is accomplished in about five minutes and the discharging takes ,up about the same time. be subjected to uniform heat in the mixingvessel,which is accomplished by means of the lead-bath, in which the lead is retained in liquid condition by the heat of the fur- 1 nace B.

catcher being arranged below the outlet-open- The charge has, to

It is preferable to employ petroleum for heating the mixing-vessel, the heating-device being of any approved construction, preferably in the nature of a suitable hydro-carbon vaporizer H, to which the hydro-carbon is supplied by a pipe it, while air under pressure is conducted through a pipe it, both pipes h h being provided with suitable stop-cocks so as to produce the proper-supply of oil and air respectively. By heating the apparatus with petroleum, a quicker heating up ofthe apparatus and a more uniform heating of the same can be obtained than with ordinary fuel. The lead-bath serves for the purpose of keeping the temperature of the mixing-vessel perfectly constant during the generation of the acetone vapors, so that any chance of decomposing the acetone is obviated.

Before introducing the molten lead in the space between the interior and exterior sections of the mixing-vessel, the exterior section is first heated to alight red heat, so that the lead remains in liquid condition and that the interior of the mixing-vessel assumes a temperature equal to the melting point of the IIO lead, and is thereby ready for the introduction of the acetate. The heated charge of acetate of lime and calcium hydrate is introduced through the man-holein the cover,which is then closed quickly, as the generation of acetone commences instantly upon the charging of the mixing-vessel. The scrapers are then set in motion, so that the acetate of lime is subjected under continuous stirring to heat in the mixing-vessel. The acetone vapors pass through the connecting-tube G into the collecting-vessel O and thence to the condenser E. When about twelve to fifteen per cent. of the acetone contained in the charge has passed over, the charge becomes perfectly dry and assumes a dust-like shape, so that it is.

necessary to supply super-heated steam into the mixing-vessel A. The supply of steam is kept up until the end of the operation. The acetonevapors are condensed in the condenser, the crude liquid acetone being conducted to a suitable receiver. As soon as Water commences to be discharged through the discharge-pipe, the operation is completed and the contents of the mixing-vessel can be discharged, which is accomplished by opening the cover A of the discharge-openin g a The scrapers then .move gradually the entire body of carbonate of lime toward the dischargeopeningand through the same to the outside, so that the mixing-vessel is in condition to be immediately charged again with a dry mixture of acetate of lime and calcium-hydrate. My improved apparatus has the advantages that it can be quickly charged and discharged; that by the arrangement of the steam-pipes in the connecting-pipes between the mixingvessel and the dust collector, and between the latter and the condenser, the dust can be quickly removed from said pipes; that by the use of the lead-bath around the. mixing-vessel a constant temperature is retained in the mixing-vessel and the walls of the same protected against destruction by burning. When the heating of the furnace is accomplished with hydro-carbon, oil-residues and tars can be burned with great advantage at Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. An apparatus for making acetone, consisting of a mixing-vessel or retort provided with interior rotary scrapers, a furnace for heating said mixing-vessel, a dust collectingvessel provided with a heating-coil, aconnecting pipe between the mixing-vessel .and the dust-collector, a condenser, a connecting-pipe between the dust-collector and condenser, and a discharge-pipe and receiver for the crude acetone below the condenser, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for making acetone, a mixing-vessel or retort, composed of a double- Walled body filled with molten-lead, a cover attached hermetically tothe double-walled body and provided with a charging man-hole, a discharge-opening at the bottom of the body, rotaryscrapers at the interior of the vessel, and a steam supply-pipe provided with openings at the inside of the mixing-vessel, substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus for making acetone, the combination of a mixing-vessel, a dust collecting vessel and a condenser, with connectingpipes between said vessels, said pipes being.

made of sectionsarranged at right angles to each other and extended beyond their points of intersection and closed by detachable covers, and valved steam-pipes entering through said covers in line with theaxis of the sections, so as to permit the convenient cleaning of all of the sections of the connecting pipes from the dust collected in the same, substantially as set forth.

4:. In an apparatus for making acetone, a dust collecting-vessel, provided with a heating-coil at its lower part, a vapor supply-pipe, and a discharge-pipe having adust-catcher below the outgoing end of the discharge-pipe, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OTTOKAR PORSOH. Witnesses:

PAUL GOEPEL, GEORGE W. JAEKEL. 

